U.S. patent application number 14/502807 was filed with the patent office on 2015-05-14 for contact center system with efficiency analysis tools.
The applicant listed for this patent is Maximus, Inc.. Invention is credited to Randall Riefel.
Application Number | 20150131793 14/502807 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52744612 |
Filed Date | 2015-05-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150131793 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Riefel; Randall |
May 14, 2015 |
CONTACT CENTER SYSTEM WITH EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS TOOLS
Abstract
An agent efficiency analysis system for a contact center
performs analysis and comparisons on where the agents' time is
being spent. The system integrates data from multiple systems
Automatic Call Distribution, Integrated Voice Response and Work
Force Management contact center applications and organizes the data
against a standard set of metrics. Statistical trend analysis
(long-term and short-term) may be performed.
Inventors: |
Riefel; Randall; (Austin,
TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Maximus, Inc. |
Austin |
TX |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
52744612 |
Appl. No.: |
14/502807 |
Filed: |
September 30, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61884896 |
Sep 30, 2013 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
379/265.06 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 2203/556 20130101;
G06Q 10/06398 20130101; H04M 2203/402 20130101; H04M 3/00 20130101;
G06Q 30/016 20130101; H04M 3/22 20130101; G06Q 30/0201 20130101;
H04M 3/42 20130101; H04M 3/5175 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
379/265.06 |
International
Class: |
H04M 3/51 20060101
H04M003/51 |
Claims
1. A method of assessing efficiency of agents in a contact center,
comprising: monitoring, by a contact center management system
implemented on one or more computer systems, activity of one or
more agents who perform services at one or more contact centers;
determining, by the contact center management system, based at
least some of the activity, one or more measures of performance for
at least one of the one or more agents, wherein at least one of the
measures of performance for at least one of the agents comprises an
occupancy, a utilization, an absentee rate, or a direct labor time
per contact; and determining, by the contact center management
system, based on at least one of the measures of performance, one
or more statistical values for at least one of the agents.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining one or more measures
of performance for at least one of the one or more agents comprises
receiving and integrating, by the contact center management system,
data from at least two of a workforce management system, an
automatic call distribution system, and a human resources
system.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the measures of performance
comprise an occupancy rate and a utilization rate.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the statistical values comprise
one or more statistical trends.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the measures of
performance are for performance of one or more groups of
agents.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the measures of
performance are for performance of one or more individual
agents.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the measures of
performance are for performance of agents associated with a
project.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically
detecting, based at least in part on the measures of performance,
automatically detect a project, group, or individual agent with
performance outside of a threshold.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending, in a response
to an indication of a special cause pattern in performance, an
alert to one or more persons.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically
detecting, based at least in part on the measures of performance, a
project, group, or individual agent with low performance.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically
detecting, based at least in part on the measures of performance, a
project, group, or individual agent with high performance.
12-13. (canceled)
14. The method of claim 1, wherein determining one or more measures
of performance for at least one of the one or more agents comprises
integrating data from at least two of a workforce management
system, an automatic call distribution system, and a human
resources system.
15. A system, comprising: one or more computer systems configured
to implement a contact center management system, wherein the
contact center management system is configured to: monitor activity
of one or more agents who perform services at one or more contact
centers; determine, based at least some of the activity, one or
more measures of performance for at least one of the one or more
agents, wherein at least one of the measures of performance for at
least one of the agents comprises an occupancy, a utilization, an
absentee rate, or a direct labor time per contact; and determine,
based on at least one of the measures of performance, one or more
statistical values for at least one of the agents.
16-25. (canceled)
26. A system, comprising: one or more computer systems configured
to implement a contact center management system, wherein the
contact center management system is configured to: monitor activity
of agents in a plurality of agent groups who perform services on
one or more projects at one or more contact centers; and perform
one or more comparisons of agent performance of at least two of the
agent groups or at least two of the projects based on a
pre-established efficiency metric.
27-36. (canceled)
37. A system, comprising: one or more computer systems configured
to implement a contact center management system, wherein the
contact center management system is configured to: monitor an
interaction arising from a client contact with one or more agents
at one or more contact centers, wherein the monitoring comprises
determining an initiator of the contact, one or more reasons for
the contact, one or more actions taken in response to the contact,
and one or more outcomes of the contact; and create a record of
interaction resulting from the contact from the time the contact
was handled by an agent to the time the interaction is completed,
wherein the record comprises the initiator of the contact, at least
one reason for the contact, one at least one of the actions taken
in response to the contact, and at least one of the outcomes of the
contact.
38. (canceled)
39. The system of claim 26, wherein the comparison comprises one or
more performance comparisons of one agent group with another agent
group.
40. The system of claim 26, wherein the system is configured to
generate and display one or more statistical control charts based
on the comparison.
41. The system of claim 37, wherein monitoring the interaction
comprises detecting, by the contact center management system, a
repeat contact.
42. The system of claim 37, wherein the contact center management
system is further configured to: define one or more repeat call
metrics for a project; and monitor, by the computer system, repeat
contacts for the project based on at least one of the repeat call
metrics.
Description
PRIORITY CLAIM
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Application Ser. No. 61/884,896 entitled "CONTACT CENTER SYSTEM
WITH EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS TOOLS" filed Sep. 30, 2013, which is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field
[0003] The present invention relates to the field of client
services. More particularly, the present invention relates to
assessing services provided to clients by agents at contact
centers.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Consumers, businesses, and other persons who receive
products and services from business and government entities often
rely on interaction with customer service representatives to carry
out transactions or to resolve problems with a product or service.
Companies and agencies may that provide such services may need to
handle large numbers of client contacts on a daily basis. In many
cases, a company or agency sets up a contact center (such as a call
center) with a group of agents (for example, customer service
representatives) to handle the client contacts. A contact center at
one facility may serve all of the clients for a particular state or
region, or even worldwide.
[0006] Due to the variety and complexity of matters being handled
in the contacts, issues handled by a contact center may not be
resolved in an efficient manner. For example, in any given case,
the actions of one agent may be carried out in a manner that is
duplicative or in conflict with those of another agent. In
addition, some cases may not be resolved in a timely manner due to
agent inefficiencies (for example, performing unnecessary actions)
or miscommunication between a customer and an agent, or between
agents.
[0007] Responding to a request for a particular service, product,
or benefit may be a complex process that takes time and involve
many steps and interactions (such as, for example, applying for a
government benefit.) The amount of resources required (including
computing, network, and/or staff) to handle the load may be
difficult to predict and plan for. Moreover, defects may occur in
processing that prevent or delay successful fulfillment of a
request. For example, a request may become stalled or be lost from
a processing queue. In addition, in cases where a large number of
processes is carried out by multiple computer systems, over
multiple channels of communication (for example, voice, web chat,
and text), identifying and correcting defects, redundancies, stuck
conditions, and inefficiencies in computer processes may be
difficult or impossible to do in a timely manner.
SUMMARY
[0008] Systems and methods of monitoring and assessing services
provided to clients by agents at contact centers are disclosed. In
an embodiment, a method of assessing efficiency of agents in a
contact center includes monitoring, by a contact center management
system implemented on one or more computer systems, activity of one
or more agents who perform services at one or more contact centers.
Based at least some of the activity, one or more measures of
performance are determined for at least one of the one or more
agents. At least one of the measures of performance for at least
one of the agents includes an occupancy, a utilization, an absentee
rate, or a direct labor time per contact. Based on at least one of
the measures of performance, one or more statistical values for at
least one of the agents are determined by the contact center
management system.
[0009] In an embodiment, a system includes one or more computer
systems configured to implement a contact center management system
that is configured to: monitor activity of one or more agents who
perform services at one or more contact centers; determine, based
at least some of the activity, one or more measures of performance
for at least one of the one or more agents, wherein at least one of
the measures of performance for at least one of the agents
comprises an occupancy, a utilization, an absentee rate, or a
direct labor time per contact; and determine, based on at least one
of the measures of performance, one or more statistical values for
at least one of the agents.
[0010] In an embodiment, a non-transitory, computer-readable
storage medium includes program instructions stored thereon. The
program instructions, when executed on one or more computers. cause
the one or more computers to implement a contact center management
system configured to: monitor activity of one or more agents who
perform services at one or more contact centers; determine, based
at least some of the activity, one or more measures of performance
for at least one of the one or more agents, wherein at least one of
the measures of performance for at least one of the agents
comprises an occupancy, a utilization, an absentee rate, or a
direct labor time per contact; and determine, based on at least one
of the measures of performance, one or more statistical values for
at least one of the agents.
[0011] In an embodiment, a method of assessing performance in a
contact center includes monitoring, by a contact management system
implemented on one or more computer systems, activity of agents in
a plurality of agent groups who perform services on one or more
projects at one or more contact centers. One or more comparisons of
agent performance of at least two of the agent groups or at least
two of the projects are performed by the contact center management
system based on a pre-established efficiency metric.
[0012] In an embodiment, a system includes one or more computer
systems configured to implement a contact center management system.
The contact center management system is configured to: monitor
activity of agents in a plurality of agent groups who perform
services on one or more projects at one or more contact centers;
and perform one or more comparisons of agent performance of at
least two of the agent groups or at least two of the projects based
on a pre-established efficiency metric.
[0013] In an embodiment, a non-transitory, computer-readable
storage medium includes program instructions stored thereon that,
when executed on one or more computers. cause the one or more
computers to implement a contact center management system
configured to: monitor activity of agents in a plurality of agent
groups who perform services on one or more projects at one or more
contact centers; and perform one or more comparisons of agent
performance of at least two of the agent groups or at least two of
the projects based on a pre-established efficiency metric.
[0014] In an embodiment, a method of assessing contact handling
includes monitoring, by a contact center management system
implemented on one or more computer systems, an interaction arising
from a client contact with one or more agents at one or more
contact centers. The monitoring includes determining an initiator
of the contact, one or more reasons for the contact, one or more
actions taken in response to the contact, and one or more outcomes
of the contact. A record is created of interaction resulting from
the contact from the time the contact was handled by an agent to
the time the interaction is completed. The record includes the
initiator of the contact, at least one reason for the contact, one
at least one of the actions taken in response to the contact, and
at least one of the outcomes of the contact.
[0015] In an embodiment, a system includes one or more computer
systems configured to implement a contact center management system.
The contact center management system is configured to: monitor an
interaction arising from a client contact with one or more agents
at one or more contact center. The monitoring includes determining
an initiator of the contact, one or more reasons for the contact,
one or more actions taken in response to the contact, and one or
more outcomes of the contact. A record is created of interaction
resulting from the contact from the time the contact was handled by
an agent to the time the interaction is completed. The record
comprises the initiator of the contact, at least one reason for the
contact, one at least one of the actions taken in response to the
contact, and at least one of the outcomes of the contact.
[0016] In an embodiment, a non-transitory, computer-readable
storage medium includes program instructions stored thereon that,
when executed on one or more computers cause the one or more
computers to implement a contact management system configured to:
monitor an interaction arising from a client contact with one or
more agents at one or more contact centers, wherein the monitoring
comprises determining an initiator of the contact, one or more
reasons for the contact, one or more actions taken in response to
the contact, and one or more outcomes of the contact; and create a
record of interaction resulting from the contact from the time the
contact was handled by an agent to the time the interaction is
completed. The record comprises the initiator of the contact, at
least one reason for the contact, one at least one of the actions
taken in response to the contact, and at least one of the outcomes
of the contact.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a contact center system
for providing services to clients.
[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a tabular report of
agent performance.
[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a daily utilization and
occupancy summary.
[0020] FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a utilization and
occupancy summary with line graphs for multiple measures of
performance.
[0021] FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a summary for
agent-level report for utilization and occupancy.
[0022] FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a client inquiry
dashboard.
[0023] FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of an inbound contacts by
group report.
[0024] FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a quarterly inbound
contacts by reason report.
[0025] FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a monthly inbound
contacts by reason report.
[0026] FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of an outbound contacts
by group report.
[0027] FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment of an outbound contacts
by reason report.
[0028] FIG. 12 illustrates one embodiment of a repeat contacts
summary report format that allows a user to drill down to
individual transactions.
[0029] FIG. 13 illustrates one embodiment of a report of contacts
by case or by client.
[0030] FIG. 14 illustrates one embodiment of a contact center
exceptions report.
[0031] FIG. 15 illustrates one embodiment of a report on contacts
requiring additional work.
[0032] FIG. 16 illustrates one embodiment of a cloud computing
system that can be implemented to provide, monitor, and analyze
services from one or more contact centers.
[0033] While the invention is described herein by way of example
for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in
the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the
embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that
the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to
limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the
contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents
and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present
invention as defined by the appended claims. The headings used
herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be
used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used
throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive
sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the
mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words
"include", "including", and "includes" mean including, but not
limited to.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS
[0034] In some embodiments, an agent efficiency analysis system for
a contact center performs analysis and comparisons on where the
agents' time is being spent. The system may acquire and bring
together data from multiple systems, including Automatic Call
Distribution, Integrated Voice Response and Work Force Management
contact center applications, and organize the data against a
standard set of metrics. Statistical trend analysis (long-term and
short-term) may be performed.
[0035] In some embodiments, a system tracks and report performance
metrics including Occupancy, Utilization, Absenteeism, and Direct
Labor Time per Contact. The system may provide automatic detection
of statistically valid high or low performing projects, sites,
agent groups, or individual agents. Presentation objects, such as
dashboards, reports and alerts, allow management to be informed on
performance, spot trends, anticipate and address risks, and take
actions to reduce cost and ensure service delivery. If any of the
metrics demonstrate statistically significant special cause
patterns or exceed defined thresholds, at either a group or
individual level, alerts may be sent to supervisors or other
appropriate personnel.
[0036] In some embodiments, a system enables assessment of projects
and groups by comparing performance against standard agent
efficiency metrics. Comparisons may be made on a
project-to-project, group-to-group, or agent-to-agent basis.
Utilization, Occupancy, and Labor Time per Call (across all agents
in a project) may be presented in separate statistical control
charts for each project where the x-axis is time (for example, a
month or week.) Statistically unusual trends may be highlighted.
Using simulation and optimization, projections can be made into the
future.
[0037] As used herein, "client" means, in the context of a provider
of products or services, a person who has received products or
services, who is receiving products or services, or is seeking to
acquire products or services. "Client" includes a person seeking or
receiving a benefit (for example, a government benefit such as a
tax credit, access to a potential employer, or insurance coverage)
or assistance.
[0038] As used herein, "contact" refers to a contact by client or
other person. Examples of modes of contacts include inbound calls
and web chat inquiries. Contacts may originate from any person or
group, including customers, subscribers, purchasers, enrollees,
potential enrollees, general citizens, providers, health plans, or
others, including anonymous callers. "Contacts" also includes
program information or health plan enrollment activities.
[0039] FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of system for providing
services to clients from a contact center and performing agent
efficiency analysis. System 100 includes contact center management
system 102, network 104, client access devices 106, and contact
center agent systems 108 at contact centers 110. Clients may
communicate with agents at contact center 110. Client access
devices 106 may include telephone, mobile phones, personal computer
systems, or other electronic device. In some embodiments, client
access devices 106 communicate with agents at a contact center via
multiple networks. For example, clients using system 100 may
variously make contact with the agents by way of the internet,
publicly switched telephone network ("PSTN"), and wireless
telephone networks.
[0040] Contact center management system 102 includes agency
efficiency module 112, contact center production planning module
114, CRM call handling module 116, task management module 118, data
storage 120. In some embodiments, contact center management system
102 is located at the same facility as one or more of contact
centers 110.
[0041] In some embodiments, actions carried out by a person or
group of persons (for example, agents at a contact center) or
processes performed on a computing system are part of an enrollment
or application process for an individual or group of individuals to
receive a benefit. For example, an individual seeking to enroll in
a plan may, by way of a computer network, submit an application for
enrollment in an insurance plan, request information about a plan,
or make requests for information about a plan, submit information
to support an application, or receive notifications relating to the
plan. Agents or other service personnel perform actions relating to
a benefit, such as handling contacts relating to enrollment
requests, determining eligibility, and managing complaints and
appeals.
[0042] In some embodiments, an agent efficiency module of a contact
center management system provides support analysis and comparisons,
both inter and intra project, on where agents paid time is being
spent. The agent efficiency module may provide the ability to
measure key summary metrics. In one embodiment, the module provides
measures including occupancy, utilization, absenteeism, and direct
labor time per contact. The agent efficiency module may perform
analysis and computations to make determinations such as the
following: [0043] Where/how are agents spending their time? [0044]
Do projects, sites, agent groups, or individual agents that are
statistically unusual with respect to labor time per contact?
[0045] What is the direct labor cost per call? [0046] Are the types
of activities agents are logging time against consistent with
project, site, and agent groups' goals? [0047] Are occupancy and
utilization metrics achieving goals of the project, site, agent
groups, or individual agents? [0048] Is the total agent logged in
time consistent with the sum of the agent's time in each activity?
[0049] Are there trends in key metrics that indicate improving or
declining performance?
[0050] The agent efficiency module may operate in conjunction with
other contact center modules, including:
Contact Center Production Planning Module
[0051] A contact center production planning module may track
forecasted contact arrivals against actual arrivals, supports
optimizing staffing needs, and analysis of service level
performance with contact data collected at intervals (for example,
30 minutes).
CRM--Call Handling Module
[0052] A CRM call handling module may monitor and analyze customer
contacts (calls, web chats) recorded in the CRM application from
the time the contact is handled by project staff to the time it is
completed, including the outcome, or actions taken by staff as a
result of the interaction.
Task Management Module.
[0053] A task management module may monitor all work tasks that are
created by contact center agents for others (for example, in the
back office) to process or task that contact center agents are to
perform when not handling inbound contacts.
[0054] In some embodiments, an agent efficiency module integrates
data from the ACD (Automatic Call Distributor), a WFM (Work Force
Management) application, and a Human Resources (HR) system, or a
combination of two or more of such systems. Based on the integrated
data, the system may perform trend analysis (short term, long term,
or both) on where agent paid time is being spent.
[0055] Presentation objects, including dashboards, reports and
alerts, may allow management to be informed on performance, spot
trends, stay on top of issues, anticipate and address risks, and
take actions at an early stage.
[0056] In some embodiments, a system provides automatic detection
of statistically valid high or low performing projects, sites,
agent groups, or individual agents. Projects, sites, agent groups,
or agents may compare performance on standardized metrics.
Historical information on agent performance may be stored and
analyzed.
[0057] In some embodiments, a system provides automated alerts. The
alerts may mitigate the need to review dashboard and reports
frequently and establish a standardized action value.
[0058] In some embodiments, a system performs computations and
generates graphical or tabular information about operations or
processes, such as system performance, agent performance, agent
efficiency, task management, workflow management, or defect
detection. Information from computations performed by the system
may be presented to users in the form of dashboards, reports, and
alerts. In some embodiments, the system performs computations to
perform an optimization, a simulation, or both.
[0059] As illustrated in FIG. 1, contact center management system
102 may include and may be implemented as multiple functional
modules or components, with each module or component including one
or more provider network resources (e.g., computing resources,
storage resources, database resources, etc.). Contact center
management system 102 may include more or fewer components or
modules, and a given module or component may be subdivided into two
or more sub-modules or subcomponents. Also, two or more of the
modules or components as shown can be combined.
Contact Center Agent Efficiency Objects
[0060] The Agent Efficiency module may include a collection of
dashboards, reports, and alerts, and a business intelligence
object-building environment. The business intelligence objects may
provide contact center management staff with analysis of key agent
performance against standardized metrics.
[0061] FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a tabular report of
agent performance.
Dashboards:
Utilization and Occupancy Summary Dashboard
[0062] A Utilization and Occupancy Summary Dashboard may provide
Contact Center Sr. Managers with statistical trending analysis into
where agent paid time is being spent and ultimately determine and
analyze labor time per call. Un-paid time, e.g., granted leave, is
also tracked as it a component of labor time.
[0063] The following data metrics may be displayed daily, weekly,
monthly, or by selectable time period for each site and program
across all agents: [0064] Scheduled Agent Time [0065] Actual Agent
Time [0066] Scheduled PTO Time [0067] Unscheduled PTO [0068] Total
Logged in Time [0069] Total Logged in Time by "Ready" Status Codes
[0070] (1) Talk Time [0071] (2) Hold Time [0072] (3) After Call
Work, i.e., Wrap Time [0073] (4) Ring Time [0074] (5) Idle Time
[0075] Total Logged in Time by "Not Ready" Status [0076] (1)
Training Time [0077] (2) Meeting Time [0078] (3) Break Time [0079]
(4) Idle Time [0080] Utilization % [0081] Occupancy % [0082] Total
Calls Handled [0083] Average Handle Time [0084] Labor Time per Call
[0085] Labor Cost per Call (Optional--only if HR data on hourly
rate is available)
[0086] Utilization, Occupancy, and Labor Time per Call (across all
agents in the selected "set") may be presented in separate
statistical control charts. In some embodiments, the x-axis is
time, for example, a month, week, or day. Statistically unusual
trends may be highlighted.
[0087] Additionally, all metrics may be presented in a table matrix
where a row is the metric, e.g., Total Logged in Time and the
columns time periods. Values that are statistical likely due to
"special causes" are highlighted. Sub "totals" (sum, percentages,
or averages are included (if more than one row in a group) for,
Site, Program, Manager and Supervisor. Grand "totals" are included
for the entire data set.
[0088] In some embodiments, user input parameters (filters) are
Site, Program, Supervisor or Manager, and Time Period.
Agent Level Utilization and Occupancy Dashboard
[0089] Agent Level Utilization and Occupancy Dashboard provides
supervisors and managers who oversee a group of agents with
statistical trending analysis into where individual agent paid time
is being spent and ultimately determine and analyze labor time per
call.
[0090] The dashboard may be organized and present the same metrics
as the Utilization and Occupancy Summary (above) however the
information is at the individual agent level, with group totals at
the Supervisor or Manager level. Additional user input parameters
include Agent Name and Agent Group.
[0091] FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a summary for
agent-level report for utilization and occupancy.
Utilization and Occupancy Cross--Project Comparison Summary
Dashboard
[0092] The Utilization and Occupancy Cross--Project Comparison
Summary Dashboard may provide managers with the ability to identify
top--performing projects by comparing performance against
standardized agent efficiency metrics. The following data metrics
may be displayed weekly, monthly, or by selectable time period for
each project selected (default is all projects within a region)
across all agents: [0093] Scheduled Agent Time [0094] Actual Agent
Time [0095] Scheduled PTO Time [0096] Unscheduled PTO [0097]
Absenteeism Percentage [0098] Total Logged in Time [0099] Total
Logged in Time--all "Ready" Status Codes [0100] Total Logged in
Time all "Not Ready" Status Codes [0101] Utilization % [0102]
Occupancy % [0103] Total Calls Handled [0104] Average Handle Time
[0105] Labor Time per Call [0106] Labor Cost per Call
(Optional--only if HR data on hourly rate is available)
[0107] In an embodiment, Utilization, Occupancy, and Labor Time per
Call (across all agents in a project) are presented in separate
statistical control charts for each project where the x-axis is
time--a month or week. Statistically unusual trends are
highlighted.
[0108] Additionally, all metrics may be presented in a table matrix
where a row is the metric, e.g., Total Logged in Time and the
columns time periods. Values that are statistical likely due to
"special causes" are highlighted. Sub "totals" (sum, percentages,
or averages are included (if more than one row in a group) for each
project. Grand "totals" are included across all projects.
[0109] In one embodiment, user input parameters (filters) include
Region, Project, Program, and Time Period.
Reports
Utilization and Occupancy Summary Report
[0110] The utilization and occupancy summary report provides
contact center managers with trending analysis into where agent
paid time is being spent and ultimately determine and analyze labor
time per call in a printable format. This format can also be used
to export data to Excel and other formats.
[0111] The following metrics may be presented in a table matrix
where a row is the metric, e.g., Total Logged in Time with the
columns representing time periods (day, week, or month depending on
time period selected).
[0112] Sub "totals" (sum, percentages, or averages are included (if
more than one row in a group) for, Project, Program, Site, Manager,
Supervisor and Agent Group. Grand "totals" are included for the
entire data set.
[0113] Some of the metrics that may be provided include: [0114]
Scheduled Agent Time [0115] Actual Agent Time [0116] Scheduled PTO
Time [0117] Unscheduled PTO [0118] Total Logged in Time [0119]
Total Logged in Time by "Ready" Status Codes [0120] (6) Talk Time
[0121] (7) Hold Time [0122] (8) After Call Work, i.e., Wrap Time
[0123] (9) Ring Time [0124] (10) Idle Time [0125] Total Logged in
Time by "Not Ready" Status [0126] (5) Training Time [0127] (6)
Meeting Time [0128] (7) Break Time [0129] (8) Idle Time [0130]
Utilization % [0131] Occupancy % [0132] Total Calls Handled [0133]
Average Handle Time [0134] Labor Time per Call [0135] Labor Cost
per Call (Optional--only if HR data on hourly rate is
available)
[0136] User input parameters (filters) are Project, Site, Program,
Supervisor or Manager, Agent Group, and Time Period
[0137] FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a daily utilization and
occupancy summary.
[0138] FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a utilization and
occupancy summary with line graphs for multiple measures of
performance.
Project Comparison Summary Report
[0139] The project summary comparison report provides managers with
ability to identify top--performing by comparing projects against
standardized agent efficiency metrics.
[0140] The following metrics may be displayed in a table matrix
where a row is the metric, e.g., Total Logged in Time with the
columns representing time periods (day, week, or month depending on
time period selected) for each project selected (default is all
projects within a region) across all agents.
[0141] Sub "totals" (sum, percentages, or averages are included (if
more than one row in a group) for each project. Grand "totals" are
included across all projects.
Metrics Included
[0142] Scheduled Agent Time [0143] Actual Agent Time [0144]
Scheduled PTO Time [0145] Unscheduled PTO [0146] Absenteeism
Percentage [0147] Total Logged in Time [0148] Total Logged in
Time--all "Ready" Status Codes [0149] Total Logged in Time all "Not
Ready" Status Codes [0150] Utilization % [0151] Occupancy % [0152]
Total Calls Handled [0153] Average Handle Time [0154] Labor Time
per Call [0155] Labor Cost per Call (only if HR data on hourly rate
is available)
[0156] Example user input parameters (filters): Region, Project,
Program, and Time Period
Alerts
Agent Group Efficiency Alerts
[0157] Automated notification may prevent a missed signal on
overall agent efficiency in a dashboard or report from being
overlooked. This automated monitoring mitigates the need to review
dashboard and reports frequently as well as establishes a
standardized action value.
[0158] If any of the following data metrics Utilization, Occupancy,
or Labor Time per Call for defined agent groups, e.g., the agents
that belong to a supervisor, or the agents working a given queue,
demonstrate statistically valid "special cause"
patterns/thresholds, an alert may be emailed to the supervisor and
manager of the agent group. Notified parties can use the
Utilization and Occupancy dashboards or reports for additional
details.
Individual Agent Efficiency Alert
[0159] Automated notification may prevent a missed signal on an
individual agent in a dashboard or reports from being overlooked.
Automated monitoring mitigates the need to review dashboard and
reports frequently, as well as establishes a standardized "action
value".
[0160] If any of the following data metrics Utilization, Occupancy,
or Labor Time per Call for an individual agent demonstrate
statistically valid "special cause" patterns/thresholds an alert
will be emailed to the supervisor. A notified party can use the
utilization and occupancy dashboards or reports for additional
details.
CRM Contact Handling
[0161] In some embodiments, a contact handling system monitors and
analyzes customer contacts (calls, web chats) recorded in a CRM
application from the time the contact is handled by project staff
to the time it is completed, including the outcome, or actions
taken by staff as a result of the interaction. The contact handling
system may automatically collect data from sus systems, such as
contact center agent systems 108. The system may monitor who is
initiating contact (for example, case head for eligible members,
providers, general public, etc.), why the contact was initiated
(for example, client enrollment, or demographic change), actions
taken during the contact, and/or outcome of the contact (for
example, enrollment or address change). Actions taken after calls
(additional work created) may be assessed to identify process
efficiencies (for example, to reduce "hand-offs" between multiple
staff performers). The analysis of this information is used to
anticipate client needs, improve customer service and reduce
operating costs.
[0162] In some embodiments, the system detects and multiple
(repeat) contact with agents and creates repeat contact reports for
use in improving first contact resolution. Projects can define
repeat call metrics and automatically monitor contacts without
agent involvement. In certain embodiments, alerts for repeat
contacts are set based on user-defined criteria.
CRM Contact Handling Module
[0163] In one embodiment, CRM contacts are handled by two allied
modules: [0164] Contact Center Production Plan Module This module
covers three distinct core functionalities: arrival monitoring and
service level conformance, forecasting and staff planning: [0165]
Tracks actual contact arrivals (transaction volumes) and service
level enabling operations to monitor volumes in real time to take
action when needed to meet targets and contractual requirements.
[0166] Provides visibility into both forecast and actual contact
volumes (calls, web chats) at monthly, weekly and daily levels,
enabling quick detection if actual volumes deviate from expected
volumes. [0167] Ensures staff is doing the right work at the right
time by aligning work with the pre-established targets. [0168]
Agent Performance Module This module focuses on adherence, and
utilization at the individual agent level, and provides metrics
including cost per contact, occupancy (paid logged time) and direct
labor time per contact.
[0169] In some embodiments, a contact handling module provides
visibility into: who is initiating contact (e.g. case head for
eligible members, providers, general public, etc.), why the contact
was initiated (e.g. client enrollment, demographic change), actions
taken during the contact, and/or outcome of the contact (e.g.
enrollment, address change). Analysis of this data is used to
anticipate client needs, improve client service before clients need
to call or deflect to another channel (self-service, email or chat
when appropriate).
[0170] In some embodiments, a contact handling module monitors and
provides information the users about actions taken after the call
(additional work created) used to identify process efficiencies to
reduce "hand-offs" between multiple staff performers.
[0171] In some embodiments, a contact handling module tracks repeat
contacts. Projects can define a repeat call metric and
automatically monitor contacts without agent involvement.
[0172] In some embodiments, this information is provided for all
contacts handled (rather than, for example, sample sets only). The
information may be used to support continuous process improvement
and one-call resolution.
[0173] In some embodiments, a contact handling module provides
ad-hoc reporting capabilities that allow users to slice and dice
data on demand to produce reports that answer business specific
questions about their contact center.
[0174] In some embodiments, a contact handling module provides a
customizable alerting capability to project managers, supervisors,
analysts or other project designated staff to be notified upon
detection of defined events (e.g., when specific contact reasons
exceed thresholds).
[0175] In some embodiments, a contact handling module measures key
performance indicators and provides reports and analytics. The
reports and analytics serve as the basis for mandatory state
reports and best practice data visualizations.
[0176] Outbound contacts may be in reference to project staff
conducting research to resolve incident reports or to support
outreach efforts or other enrollment activities.
CRM Contact Handling Operational Dashboard
[0177] A CRM Contact Handling Operational Dashboard may provide
users with a snapshot into the number of contacts handled (current
day as well as a two week trend), the most common reasons for
contact, the categories or groups of people (e.g., clients,
community organizations) initiating contact.
[0178] In an embodiment, the CRM Contact Handling Operational
Dashboard is organized into four sections:
[0179] 1) Daily Summary [0180] Total contacts handled (today)
presented numerically [0181] Contacts by hour presented in a bar
graph (hover capability provides the count by hour) [0182] First
Call Resolution--pie chart provides the percent of clients who only
make contact only once within the past week vs. the percent of
repeat contacts
[0183] 2) Weekly Summary [0184] Total Contacts handed by day (past
two weeks) presented in a line graph by language (hover capability
provides the count by day for each language)
[0185] 3) Contact Action Summary [0186] Tabulated data provides the
top 5 most common actions (as a percentage of total actions taken)
previous month vs. current month-to-date
[0187] 4) Contact Group Summary [0188] Tabulated data provides the
distribution of contacts organized by group (case head, CBO,
plan/provider) as a percentage of total contacts for the previous
month vs. current month-to-date
Reports
Inbound Contacts by Group Reports
[0189] An Inbound Contacts by Group report provides details into
the categories or groups of people who have initiated contact with
agents for the past quarter. The system may analyze the data and
highlights trends or changes over time. This information may be
used to assess impacts of policy, program, process changes (did the
change increase/decrease who needs to contact the service
provider?) and to detect changes in the needs of the people being
served. The report may include categories or contact "group" (in
rows) and the count and percentage of contacts handled (in columns)
for each contact group for the previous three months, as well as
the total count and percentage for the three months combined.
Inbound Contacts by Reason--Monthly Report
[0190] An Inbound Contacts by Reason report may provide a detailed
view into the reasons clients initiated contact, and the actions
taken or outcome of the contact, by program and language for the
previous full month. This data enables comparison by program and
provides insight into differing needs of clients by their spoken
language. This tabulated report displays the action taken in rows
and with columns providing counts and percentage of actions taken
by language and by program for the previous month.
[0191] An individual call or web chat may result in multiple
actions taken; each action is recorded and made visible in this
report.
Inbound Contacts by Reason--Quarterly Report
[0192] This report provides a summary of actions taken as a result
of client contacts for the prior quarter used to detect trends or
changes over time. This is often used to assess impact of policy,
program, process changes (did the change increase/decrease why we
were contacted or the outcome of the contact?) This report may
display the action taken in rows and provides counts and percentage
of actions taken by month for the previous three months in columns,
as well as the total count and percentage for the three months
combined.
Outbound Contacts by Group Report
[0193] This report may provide details into the categories or
groups of people that a service provider's agents contact usually
while performing outreach campaigns, or other enrollment-related
activities. This report may display the contact group in rows and
the count and percentage of contacts handled by contact group for
each of the previous three months, as well as the total count and
percentage for the three months combined.
Outbound Contacts by Reason Report
[0194] This report provides details into actions taken as a result
of outbound contacts initiated by a service provider's agents for
the past quarter and is often used to assess the outcome of
outreach efforts. This tabulated report displays the action taken
on provider-initiated contacts in rows and provides counts and
percentage of actions taken by month for the previous three months
in columns, as well as the total count and percentage for the three
months combined.
Repeat Contacts Summary Report
[0195] This report detects clients with multiple (repeat) contacts
within a one-week timeframe and is used to support efforts for
first contact resolution. This bar graph provides the count of
distinct clients (y-axis) by the number of contacts made by that
client (x-axis) for the prior month. A user may drill-down for
transaction level details.
Contacts by Case or Client Report
[0196] This report is used to provide staff a contact history on
all calls/web chats handled for a specified case or client and is
often used by staff performing research and in incident resolution.
This tabulated (grid) report returns transaction level details for
the user-defined case or client. Each row represents an individual
call/web chat and corresponding columns include details about the
contact such as case identifier, contact record identifier, contact
start/end date and time, and language among others.
Contacts Requiring Additional Work Report
[0197] This report identifies contacts that require additional work
by another staff performer. This report is used to identify process
efficiencies and other opportunities to reduce "hand-offs". This
tabulated report provides the type of coverage and task types
created from the contact in rows, and counts of contacts by month
in columns for the past three months. The total count for the three
months combined (calls/web chats) is also included in column data.
A user may drill-down for transaction level details.
Contact Center Exception Report
[0198] This report details instances where contact center staff
fail to properly process their contacts to completion. These
contacts are left "open" in the system and at times are found to
have inadequate documentation. This report includes count, start
time, end time, record ID and staff performer.
Alerts
Excessive Repeat Contact Alert
[0199] The excessive repeat contact alert notifies designated
operations analysts when an inbound contact is received for the
same client 5 or more times in the past 30 days. Daily alert may be
sent to the specified operations supervisor(s) via email along with
a link to the "Repeat Contact Summary" which provides details on
repeat contacts (including individual transactions)
First Call Resolution Alert
[0200] The system may notify specified operational managers if the
percentage of first call resolution contacts falls below a
predetermined threshold. In one embodiment, the threshold is 80%.
Daily alert sent to specified operations managers via email along
with a link to the "Repeat Contact Summary" which provides details
on repeat contacts (including individual transactions).
Contact Center Exception Alert
[0201] Daily process monitoring alert sends a notification to
specified operations supervisor(s) when staff deviate from the
process to properly complete (end) contact records. Daily alert
sent to specified operations supervisor(s) via email along with a
link to the "Contact Center Exception Report" which provides
transaction details.
Contact Reason Monitoring Alert
[0202] Monthly alert notifies specified operations analysts when
the distribution of contact "reasons" or "action types" changes by
more than 5% month over month. Monthly alert sent to specified
operations analysts via email along with a link to the "Inbound
Contacts by Reason (Action Type)--Monthly Report."
Contact Group Exception Alert
[0203] Monthly alert notifies specified operations analysts when
the distribution of contact groups changes by more than 5% month
over month. Monthly alert sent to specified operations analysts via
email along with a link to the "Repeat Contacts Summary" which
provides transaction details.
Dashboards
CRM Contact Handling Operational Dashboard
[0204] The CRM Contact Handling Dashboard is the front-end and
first line of access to business intelligence and often the best
way for project management to gain insights and monitor at a glance
the project's operations and performance.
[0205] The CRM Contact Handling Operational Dashboard provides a
snap-shot into the current daily inbound contact volumes, recent
trends in contacts handled by language, and a comparison of the
most common actions taken as a result of inbound contacts (current
month-to-date vs. previous month).
[0206] In one embodiment, the summary dashboard is organized into
the following sections: [0207] I. The Daily Summary displays the
total volume of contacts handed (current day), the volume of
contacts handled by hour, and the percent of calls with first call
resolution (within the last week). [0208] II. The Weekly Summary
provides trending data on contacts handled for the past two weeks
(by language) The Contact Action Summary compares the top N (for
example, Top 5) most common actions or outcomes from contacts
handled for the previous month vs. the current month-to-date [0209]
III. Contact Group Summary compares the categories or groups of
people initiating contact with agents previous month vs. the
current month-to-date.
[0210] FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a client inquiry
dashboard.
Inbound Contacts by Group Report
[0211] This report provides trending data into who is initiating
contact with agents (via inbound calls or web chats) for the past
quarter. This provides month over month trending and is often used
to assess impacts of policy, program, process changes (did the
change increase/decrease who needs to contact us?) and to detect
changes in client needs.
[0212] FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of an inbound contacts by
group report.
Inbound Contacts by Reason (Action) Report--Quarterly
[0213] This report provides visibility into the reasons clients
initiated contact, and the actions taken or outcome of the contact,
over the past quarter. This provides month over month trend data to
analyze changes to contact drivers over time.
[0214] FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a quarterly inbound
contacts by reason report.
Inbound Contacts by Reason (Action Report--Monthly
[0215] This report provides a detailed view into the reasons
clients initiated contact, and the actions taken or outcome of the
contact, by program and language for the previous full month. This
provides a comparison of call reasons and actions taken or outcomes
by language, and provides insight into differing needs of clients
by their spoken language.
[0216] FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a monthly inbound
contacts by reason report.
Outbound Contacts by Group Report
[0217] This report provides trending data into categories or groups
of people that a service provider's agents make contact with (via
outbound calls) usually while performing outreach campaigns, or
other enrollment-related activities.
[0218] FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of an outbound contacts
by group report.
Outbound Contacts by Reason (Action Type)-Quarterly Report
[0219] This report provides visibility into the reasons service
provider-initiated contact with the client, and actions taken or
outcome of the contact, over the past quarter. This provides month
over month trending data often used to analyze the effectiveness of
outbound call campaigns.
[0220] FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment of an outbound contacts
by reason report.
Repeat Contacts Summary Report
[0221] This report detects clients with multiple (repeat) contacts
with agents and is used to support efforts for first contact
resolution. Out of the box metrics return the number of clients (by
Client ID) that have made contact with agents two or more times
within a user-defined timeframe. The report may allow a user to
drill-down to individual transactions.
[0222] FIG. 12 illustrates one embodiment of a repeat contacts
summary report format that allows a user to drill down to
individual transactions.
Contacts by Case or Client Report
[0223] This report allows staff to enter a case or client ID to
view transaction details for all contacts handled for the specific
case or client over a user-defined timeframe. This is most often
used to support research or analysis efforts.
[0224] FIG. 13 illustrates one embodiment of a report of contacts
by case or by client.
Contact Center Exception Report
[0225] This report details instances where contact center staff
fail to properly process their contacts to completion. These
contacts are left "open" in the system and at times are found to
have inadequate documentation. These incidents should be
investigated to ensure staff follow established business processes
that result in proper contact handling with appropriately
documentation. A daily alert to management is included as a
standard out-of-the-box feature.
[0226] FIG. 14 illustrates one embodiment of a contact center
exceptions report.
Contacts Requiring Additional Work Report
[0227] This report provides insight into contacts which cannot be
resolved by agents during the initial call and require additional
work by another staff performer. This report is used to identify
process efficiencies and other opportunities to reduce
"hand-offs".
[0228] FIG. 15 illustrates one embodiment of a report on contacts
requiring additional work.
Alerts
Contact Center Exception Alert.
[0229] Daily process monitoring alert notifies specified operations
managers when staff deviate from the process to properly complete
(end) contact records.
Excessive Repeat Contact Alert.
[0230] Daily process monitoring alert notified specified operations
analysts when an inbound contact is received for the same client a
threshold number of time times in a given period (more than 3 times
in the past 30 days).
Contact Reason Monitoring Alert.
[0231] Notifies operational managers whenever specified contact
"reasons" or "action types" exceeds project defined thresholds.
Contact Group Exception Alert.
[0232] Monthly process monitoring alert notifies specified
operations managers when the `Case-head, Guardian or Member`
contact category varies by more than a designated percentage month
to month.
First-Call Resolution Alert.
[0233] Notifies operational managers if first-call resolution
percentage drops below a designated threshold percentage.
[0234] In some embodiments, services for assessing operations at a
contact center are provided by way of a cloud computing system over
a communications network. FIG. 16 illustrates one embodiment of a
cloud computing system that can be implemented to provide, monitor,
and analyze services from one or more contact centers. System 1100
includes client access devices 1102 accessed by client 1 through
client n and agent devices 1104 operated by agent 1 through agent n
at one or more contact centers 1105. Client access devices 1102 may
be telecommunications devices (for example, mobile phones or land
lines) or computing systems (for example, personal computers)
connected to network 1106. Each of client access devices 1102 and
agent devices 1104 may be connected to cloud computing system 1108
by way of network 1106. In certain embodiments, client access
devices 1102 and agent devices 1104 may be connected to one another
by way of network 1106.
[0235] Cloud computing system 1108 may provide remote computing
resources, remote storage resources, or both, for systems connected
to cloud computing systems 1108. For example, cloud computing
system 1108 may provide cloud computing services to users of client
access systems 1102.
[0236] Various system architectures may be employed in cloud
computing system 1108. Systems and components of cloud computing
system 1108 may be at a single physical location, such as a data
center, or distributed among any number of locations. Cloud
computing system 1108 includes cloud application services 1110,
cloud platform 1112, cloud infrastructure 1114, cloud data storage
1116, and cloud security 1118. Cloud applications services may be
implemented by way of one or more computer systems, each include
one or more central processing units, such as described herein.
Examples of application services 1110 include providing contact
monitoring, agent efficiency analytics, alert generation, report
generation. Cloud application services 1110 may access cloud data
storage 1116.
[0237] In some embodiments decision support services are provided
to users using application services in a computing cloud. In one
embodiment, product search, business intelligence, or combinations
thereof, are performed as one of application services 1110. In
certain embodiments, services in a cloud receive a message feed
from a local computing system, such as one or more of data source
computing systems 1104, or from third party information
providers.
[0238] Cloud infrastructure 1114 may encompass a variety of
physical resources, such as computing devices, servers, block
storage, mass storage devices, file servers, software, and network
systems. In some embodiments, a cloud computing system encompasses
virtualized resources, such as virtualized data storage or
virtualized hardware.
[0239] In some embodiments, a service provider provides services to
decision makers by way of cloud computing resources. In some
embodiments, computation resources are rented or leased to
customers of the service provider. In certain embodiments, services
are provided to users at sites as software as a service ("SaaS") or
platform as a service ("Paas"). Services may be provided to each
user on an on-demand basis.
[0240] Networks 1106 and 1107 may include any suitable data network
or combination of networks that enable the exchange of information
between electronic systems. For example, networks 1106 may include
one or more Local Area Networks (LANs) such as Ethernet networks,
as well as Wide Area Networks (WANs), Metropolitan Area Networks
(MANs), or other data or telecommunication networks implemented
over any suitable medium, such as electrical or optical cable, or
via any suitable wireless standard such as IEEE 802.11 ("Wi-Fi"),
IEEE 802.16 ("WiMax"), etc. In various embodiments, all or a
portion of networks 1106 may include the network infrastructure
commonly referred to as the Internet. In other embodiments,
networks 1106 and 1107 may be entirely contained within an
enterprise and not directly accessible from the Internet. In
certain embodiments, information may be exchanged over a virtual
private network. In one embodiment, information is exchanged over
the internet, but encrypted in such a way to make a private network
not accessible from the rest of the internet.
[0241] In various embodiments, some users may be connected over a
different network than other users. For example, as shown in FIG.
16, agents may be connected to cloud computing system 1108 over
network 1107. In some embodiments, one or more users are connected
over a private network. For example, in the embodiment shown in
FIG. 16, network 1106 may be a public network and network 1107 may
be a private network.
[0242] In various embodiments, a user may communicate over systems
in system 1100 from locations external to decision makers and cloud
computing system 1108. For example, a decision maker may
communicate with users at a remote location by way of portable
electronic devices 1122. Portable electronic devices 1122 may be
located anywhere, including a home, a government office, or any
other location.
[0243] Although for illustrative purposes only three clients and
three contact center agents are shown in FIG. 16, a system may
include any number of sites and any number of site computer
systems.
[0244] Computer systems may, in various embodiments, include
components such as a CPU with an associated memory medium such as
Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM). The memory medium may store
program instructions for computer programs. The program
instructions may be executable by the CPU. Computer systems may
further include a display device such as monitor, an alphanumeric
input device such as keyboard, and a directional input device such
as mouse. Computer systems may be operable to execute the computer
programs to implement computer-implemented systems and methods. A
computer system may allow access to users by way of any browser or
operating system.
[0245] Computer systems may include a memory medium on which
computer programs according to various embodiments may be stored.
The term "memory medium" is intended to include an installation
medium, e.g., Compact Disc Read Only Memories (CD-ROMs), a computer
system memory such as Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Static
Random Access Memory (SRAM), Extended Data Out Random Access Memory
(EDO RAM), Double Data Rate Random Access Memory (DDR RAM), Rambus
Random Access Memory (RAM), etc., or a non-volatile memory such as
a magnetic media, e.g., a hard drive or optical storage. The memory
medium may also include other types of memory or combinations
thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a first
computer, which executes the programs or may be located in a second
different computer, which connects to the first computer over a
network. In the latter instance, the second computer may provide
the program instructions to the first computer for execution. A
computer system may take various forms such as a personal computer
system, mainframe computer system, workstation, network appliance,
Internet appliance, personal digital assistant ("PDA"), television
system or other device. In general, the term "computer system" may
refer to any device having a processor that executes instructions
from a memory medium.
[0246] The memory medium may store a software program or programs
operable to implement embodiments as described herein. The software
program(s) may be implemented in various ways, including, but not
limited to, procedure-based techniques, component-based techniques,
and/or object-oriented techniques, among others. For example, the
software programs may be implemented using ActiveX controls, C++
objects, JavaBeans, Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC),
browser-based applications (e.g., Java applets), traditional
programs, or other technologies or methodologies, as desired. A CPU
executing code and data from the memory medium may include a means
for creating and executing the software program or programs
according to the embodiments described herein.
[0247] Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various
aspects of the invention may be apparent to those skilled in the
art in view of this description. Accordingly, this description is
to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of
teaching those skilled in the art the general manner of carrying
out the invention. It is to be understood that the forms of the
invention shown and described herein are to be taken as
embodiments. Elements and materials may be substituted for those
illustrated and described herein, parts and processes may be
reversed, and certain features of the invention may be utilized
independently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art
after having the benefit of this description of the invention.
Methods may be implemented manually, in software, in hardware, or a
combination thereof. The order of any method may be changed, and
various elements may be added, reordered, combined, omitted,
modified, etc. Changes may be made in the elements described herein
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as
described in the following claims.
* * * * *